Help St. Jude’s mission with raffle

Philip Wood/ Gold Country News ServicePhyllis Francis, left, and Rickie Brown talk with Thomas Tillman at the St. Jude’s Dream Home in Rocklin. Tillman purchased six tickets for a chance to win the two-story home in Whitney Ranch.

Don Langford remembers the day his daughter Analise was diagnosed with cancer.
It was 12 years ago on July 4 and she called home after going to the health center during college.
“She felt she had pneumonia or congestion in her lungs,” Don Langford said. But it turned out to be much worst. Through X-rays, doctors found a shadow.
Analise was diagnosed with large-celled Hodgkin’s cancer.
“Life stops. All the things that you thought were important five minutes ago were not important anymore,” Langford said.
Through Don’s familiarity with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, they were able to get the treatment they needed and Analise is now in full remission.
Since the diagnosis, St. Jude has been a huge part of the Langford family, Don said.
Entertainer Danny Thomas founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1962. The hospital’s mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
St. Jude has developed protocols that have bumped up cancer survival rates and patients are never denied treatment due to a family’s financial situation, said Lauren Healey, event marketing representative with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
One of the fundraisers that makes that possible is the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, in which 100 percent of the ticket price goes back to St. Jude research and patient treatment. This year, the house is located in Rocklin’s Whitney Ranch development where someone will win the five bedrooms, three baths Standard Pacific home.
Valued at more than $425,000, the 3,096-square-foot home includes granite kitchen countertops, hardwood flooring, large master bath and closet and a three-car garage.
For $100, buyers have a chance to win the house. A total of 12,000 tickets will be sold and the winner will be announced June 27.
The money will go back to families such as the Langfords of Roseville.
Don Langford said they found comfort in St. Jude’s team aspect and care for its patients.
“Immediately, you’re important when you walk in the door,” he said. “She (Analise) had been to doctors, but to have them explain in as much detail as she wanted to hear … she wanted a place that really cared for her as a person.”
And that’s what they found in St. Jude.
Now Analise is involved in survivor studies as a way to return the favor, Don Langford said.
Don Langford said the Dream House Giveaway project mirrors the team aspect of St. Jude, where everyone has to be on board for it be successful.
“It becomes a real team effort,” he said.
Touring through the Dream House in Rocklin, Don Langford said he sees it as a location fit for a family.
“It’s in a community where you would feel comfortable raising your kids,” he said.
Tickets are available at Sacramento Credit Union, Roger’s Jewelry stores, Standard Pacific Homes sales centers and at (800) 564-8758. For more information, go to www.stjudedreamhome.org.